Date: Wed, 7 Jul 2004 09:44:09 -0700 (PDT) From: Flcl flcl Subject: Rafello the Raven son of Jack the wolf Finale Well, here it is. The end. I had fun writing this story, hope you had fun reading it. This was my second story. (My first was put to a hault because of complications) If you have any questions, comments, cconcerns, or even suggestions send them to neptunewolf05@yahoo.com Well, The End... Finale: Death of the Big Bad Wolf "You could never know what its like, Your blood like winter freezes just like ice, and there's a cold lonely light that shines from you, You'll wind up like the wreck you hid behind that mask you use..." Rafello got the news from his brother Valentine. He called at 6 in the morning. He said that Jack died at the hospital and Nikki could not save him. He also said that it would be best if Ra did not show until the funeral. Ra woke up his boyfriend who was asleep next to him. "Wake up." Ra said softly as he nudged him. "What, What?" "Jack died last night." "What?" Eli said as he got out of bed. They walked into the kitchen. It took Ra a while to get used to the new mansion. Ra poured him a stiff shot of Vodka. "You want one?" he offered after he downed his. "Naw, I'm straight. So what will happen next?" "I don't know. Nikki will be the Head of the Family now, Nikki, of all people. I remember my father telling me that he would never let Nikki be head of the family, now look. I have to make my move now." "What move?" Eli asked. "We have no plan." "I have to take over this city, with or without my families support." Ra went back to the room. "Where you going?" "Home." Rafello said. Eli came in and got dressed with him. Eli realized that now he was only the sidekick in this mission. Ra was the more dominant. They drove in the Jag to the Chance Manor on the other side of town. The sun had already risen. Ra was going to defy his family and take over. If there were any objections, he would make them into an example. Ra HAD to show his dominance over his family. He had been through too much just to have Nikki punk him out. They arrived at the house. Ra parked his car in the museum, a place were only his father parked his best cars. They got out and walked to the front door. Eli had his two PP7's, Ra had his sword and the chrome Desert Eagle his father gave him. Ra knocked. A butler opened the door and let them in. Ra walked to conference room and knocked on the door. "It me. Its my time." Ra said. Jimbo answered the door. The sight had Rafello in awe. Everyone was in the conference room, just like when he was little; the whole family was there except for him. Ra looked around. Everyone looked back at him with big eyes. Jimbo had a tear in his eye. No one had seen Ra for years except for Nikki, who was already sitting in her father's chair. Valentine came up and gave him a hug. He was crying tears of joy. "I though I would never see my little brother again. Where have you been?" "I've been around." Ra said. Nikki stood up. She was wearing a dress. Ra could never get used to seeing her looking like a . . . girl. "Don't hug that traitor! Didn't I tell you? The son on a bitch was working with the Kitsune gang." "He's still my brother. Calm down Nikki." "Calm down? What the fuck?" Charlie interrupted, "Just chill. We ain't seen the boy in some years. This is cause for celebration." Nikki looked at him, everyone was looking back at her. She had to win the family over so she could take over. "Well, alright. Little bro, I would like to temporarily invite you back to the family. Well have a little get together tonight, we could all discuss Dad's funeral. O.K.?" Nikki said trying not to lose her cool. "O.k. we'll be back tonight. We just have to handle some business." Rafello said. He left out of the conference room. "And did you think this fool could never win, Well look at me, I'm coming back again, I got a taste of love in a simple way, And if you need to know while I'm still standing you just fade away . . ." That night, they came back. Everyone was scattered around in the bar in the basement. Ra had a good look at all of them. All of the old members he remembered from his childhood were growing old. His uncles, aunts and cousins, all of them seemed to be over 55. The newer members, Valentine, Nikki, Jackie, Andre, Daniel, Devan, and Penny were all ready for this. With Jack gone, the family had to rotate, new blood had to be put in. Most of the original members were to retire from the mafia. All of the old members went to the board of directors of Chance Inc. The bar was big. Everyone was in their own little group at their own table. Ra walked over to a crowd of people. "Well, well, well, if it isn't Rafello. Tell us what you been up to these past few years." Vinnie said. Ra had a seat at the table of old members. "Well, I've been kinda busy. When my old dad kicked me out, I went to live with my boyfriend over in the Lotus Apartments. Helped me find a job. I worked with him as a Kitsune gang hit man. We made a lot of money. You know how it is. I even made friends with the head of the Kitsune gang, Hige." Everyone at the table gasped. "You knew Hige? And worked with him all this time?" Vinnie said. "The Great Hige?" Charlie asked. "Yeah. Me, Eli and Hige would always hang out." "And Nikki just killed him. I thought she was the greatest. Hige was like `The Man' when he stole those gems." " . . . I stole the gems, well, me and Eli." Ra said pointing over to the silent Eli next to him. "WHAT? YOU STOLE THE GEMS?" Vinnie blurted out. Everyone looked in their direction, including Nikki who was behind the bar chatting with Andre. Vinnie continued, "Nikki didn't tell us that you was the robber." "Yeah, Hige just set it up for us." Ra said. "Damn! You one bad nigga." Charlie said with a slight laugh. "We should have known with all that training you went through. To be honest, old Jack put you through more training than anyone else EVER." "I could have been a great boss if he didn't put me out." Ra said looking over at Nikki. Charlie leaned closer to Ra and whispered in his ear, "To be honest, your father never wanted anyone but you to take his place. He just over reacted when he found out you were gay. And honestly, I had nothing against gay people." Charlie said with his hands in the air to show he was not lying. "Neither did Vinnie, or most of the other old members. They just went along with it because Jack did. And you know your brother and sister Valentine and Jackie always cared for you. I don't know about Andre, and Nikki straight up hates you. She divided the family, half are against you and half are with you. She forbid anyone to make contact with you but now your back. You can do what's right. Show Nikki who's boss." Charlie said. He took a sip of his rum and coke. Valentine walked over to the table. "Hey little bro. You been alright?" "Yeah, kind of. I've been making a lot of money." "Doing what?" "I'm a professional hit man now. Eli and me make about 4 grand a hit." "Doing it big eh? Dad must have taught you a lot in his little boot camp out back. And Kakashi, man, no ones heard from him since you left." "Kakashi was a great guy. Hige said he trained him too." "Man, my little bro. I still can't believe you came back. Too bad it took a tragedy to bring you here." Just then Marlette walked up to the stage at the other end of the bar. She had the microphone in her hand. "Now that everyone is here, we can start making the preparations for the funeral. I would like it if everyone came over here so we can discuss this." Everyone came over and pulled up a seat around the stage. Ra and Eli were in the back of the crowd. Marlette looked at each and every person in the crowd. When she saw Rafello, she begun. They talked about were the funeral was going to be, what time, what day, what Jack would ware, what poems would be said, and when the lawyer was going to recite from the will. "Don't you know I'm still standing better than I ever did, Looking like a true survivor, feeling like a little kid, I'm still standing after all this time, picking up the pieces of my life without you on my mind . . ." The funeral was going to be three days from now at the house. The lawyer was to be there after the funeral to read Jack's will. The family plot was in the back at the edge of the field. It was where Jack's father, mother, grandmother, and grandfather were. The death of Jack Chance affected everyone differently. Ra decided to stay at the house until after the funeral. Eli new he wasn't welcome, so he decided to go back to their house until Ra called him. After the meeting in the basement, Rafello went upstairs to his old room. It was just as he had left it. The phone even had messages on it. He walked over to the phone and listened to one of the messages. It was from the exact day he left the house all those years ago. He pressed the button. "Hey, Ra. I'm sorry we had to break up. It wasn't my fault honestly. I broke up with him last night. I couldn't stand to be without you. Please, answer the phone Ra, don't be like this. It's me Sapphire, yo baby girl, yo puddin' pop, yo main squeeze. Call me soon." Ra looked at next 30 messages, they all cam from the same number, they were all from her. Marlette walked into the room. "Son?" Ra turned around and looked at his mother. He got a close look at her. She was old, wrinkly, her hair was thinning and it looked as though she weighed no more than 100 pounds. "What happened?" She just looked at him with caring eyes. "Time, time happened Ra. You should have seen you father before he died. The cancer really got to him and the medicine Nikki was giving him didn't seem to work. Nikki did the best she could with the chemotherapy. Nikki was the last to see him alive in his bed. Poor man, died. He was gone." Marlette started to cry. Like most men, Ra hated to see his mother cry. He walked over to her and hugged her. "Its o.k. mamma. Everything's gonna be o.k." "You were just like your father, Rafello." She said. Nikki walked into the room and saw Ra hugging their mother. "It's time for your medicine, ma." Marlette let go and followed Nikki into the bathroom down the hall. Ra followed, but left distance between them. He stared at Nikki as though she was the grim reaper taking his mother away. They entered the large bathroom. It was richly done. There was gold, marble, and rich tones throughout the bathroom. It seemed to glow with the setting sun coming through the window by the tub. Nikki sat Marlette down on a chair while she reached into the medicine cabinet and pulled various bottles of pills and a syringe. She opened each of the 5 bottles of pills and pulled out 2 of each. Nikki poured some water in a glass. "Here you go mamma." Nikki said. Marlette groaned a little. " You know you have to take all of them, they will make you feel better." Ra's mother took all of the pills in her hand and put them into her mouth. Then she grabbed the glass of water and swallowed the pills as if it were no big deal. It wasn't, Marlette was given the same pills everyday. "Good. Now lets get you to bed you can get your rest." Nikki said. She helped her mother up and took her to her room. Nikki tucked her in as if she was the mother and Marlette was the child. That night, Ra couldn't sleep. He kept on having nightmares of when he was in training with his father in the back shooting range. He was hitting every target, but his father didn't seem to care. He just kept looking out the window over at His father's grave. Ra stopped shooting and came over to look at what his father was looking at. Jack opened the door and ran out to the family plot. Ra was close behind. Jack knelt down on one knee and said a prayer, then suddenly, the bodies got up out of the graves, including his dog, Charlie. Ra woke up in a cold sweat. It was 2 am. It was like that every night until the day of the funeral. Ra had finally got some sleep. When he woke up his TV was still on. He turned it off. The maid knocked on his door. "Its time to get up, Mr. Chance." She said. Ra got up and got into the shower. He put on his best suit. Everyone was still getting ready. He passed by Nikki in the hallway. She had on a simple black dress. Nikki walked pass Ra as if she didn't notice him. She stared straight ahead and kept walking. By noon everyone was ready for the funeral. The seats were set up outside. The casket was open for all to view. There was a long line. When it was Ra's turn to look at his father he noticed he was different, more peaceful. Jack hadn't looked this good in a black suit since his wedding day. Rafello took a seat next to Valentine in the front row. Jackie was next to him, then Andre, then Nikki and on the end was Marlette. She had already started crying. The funeral went on. The pastor said a few prayers. Andre got up and played "Irish Tune from Country Derry" on his trumpet. Marlette said a few words about Jack and how he was. Then Nikki said a few words, about how she was honored to have to take on Jack's heavy burden of taking care of the family. Ra just looked away. Nikki believed that she was the one to be head of the Chance Family Mafia and that Jack would have wanted it to be that way. When the funeral was over, they lowered Jack's body into the ground. It was over. That was it. Jack was officially no more. The whole world was about to change when Marlette asked all of the family members to join her in the formal living room. The lawyer was there with his black suit and brown alligator skin briefcase. He was a tall dark man with gaunt features. He seemed to be from the country. His hair was as dark as his face and cut kind of short. He was the messenger of death. The lawyer stood by the grandfather clock. He waited until everyone got in before he took a seat. "Hello everyone. My name is Andre Wade He said as he opened his briefcase and took out some papers. "It seems that your father has left some interesting items." Everyone looked around, not knowing what was to come. The lawyer read off who was to get what. The house and the contents of the safe was to go to Marlette. Jack's collection of guns and weapons was to go to Jimbo. Jack's share of Chance Inc went to Marlette also, making her the majority owner. Valentine got the car collection. Andre got collection of silver and gold plated instruments including a trumpet, trombone, euphonium, French horn, piccolo trumpet and mellophone. Jack was saving it for Andre's wedding gift. It was worth about half a million dollars. Jackie got a river front mansion, one of the many mansions Jack acquired in his time. Mr. Wade then said that all of the rest of Jack's businesses, money houses, and various other assets were to be divided evenly throughout the family. Nikki and Ra looked at the man. "What about us? What do we get?" Nikki yelled at the lawyer. He reached into the briefcase and pulled out an envelope with a wax seal on it. "I think this is for you two." Mr. Wade said. He opened the letter and pulled out a hand written letter. He read it out loud. It was very brief and to the point. "Before my death, I have to make a very hard decision. I have to choose who will take my place. A few years I thought I made a good choice but I found out I was wrong so I had to change it. But in these last two months I realized that I made a grave mistake. Nikki should not be part of the chance family mafia AT ALL. When I observed her on her missions, I noticed she only cared about the money and the power over people. This is not what the Chance Family Mafia is about. My Grandfather started this mafia to help the little guy. It was hard for Black people back then. My Grandfather promised to help all black people in this country. He gave 50% of all his earning to the Black community during the Great Depression. With him, no one went without. And over the years when My father took over the mafia he did the same and so did I. I noticed that same type of character in Rafello. That's why I now declare that Rafello Doc Chance be head of the Chance Family Mafia, no matter if he like males or females or even dogs all I care. It doesn't matter anymore. I should have been more supportive of his choices . . . I leave Nikki one million dollars, enough to make herself a new life somewhere else. P.s. Take care of your mother Ra." Nikki had a tear in her eye. "What? No! This can't be happening! This is mine! All mine!" Nikki screamed. She stood up and took out her magnum and pointed it into the crowd of family members. She looked directly at Rafello and pointed the gun to his face. "I worked to hard for you to take it away from me you . . ." " Don't say it Nikki!" Vinnie said before she could get her last word out. "You . . ." "Don't Nikki. You don't mean it." Vinnie said. Nikki got closer to Ra and put the gun to his forehead. She pulled back the hammer. Jackie stood up and pulled out his 9mm and pointed it at her from across the room. "Put down gun, Nikki. Don't make me have to do this to ya sista! "You Faggot!" Nikki finally yelled. Before she could get the pull the trigger, Ra got up and tackled her to the floor. She fired off a bullet but it went through the window. Rafello grabbed the gun and hit her in the head with it. The lawyer was already out of the room. He wasn't expecting this type of reaction. Ra was on his knees with the gun in his hand and Nikki knocked out when he heard the hammer of another gun pull back with a "click" sound. "Let her go!" The voice behind him said. Ra didn't know what to do so he let go of the gun and got up off of Nikki. He turned around to see who it was. "Jimbo?" Ra said with disbelief. "I don't care what anyone else says. Nikki deserves to be the boss! No fruit should be able to be head of this family." Jimbo said. Benny got out his gun and pointed it at Ra too, so did John, Rina, and Will. "As you can see I'm not alone in this." Marva got up and reached under the couch and pulled out a sawed off shotgun. "Now look at here, it ain't gone be no fightin' up in hur. Now my brother says it would be best if Rafello be the head of the family and HE WILL." Marva said sternly. "If you got beef with Ra, then you got beef with me uncle. Now put down the gun!" Valentine said with his 9mm in hand facing the mob. More people stood up in Ra's defense including Vinnie, his twin brother, and Millsap's daughter Penny. "It's what grandpa would have wanted." She said. Benny lowered his gun and so did everyone else who had a gun facing Rafello. "Alright. Let the little gay mutha fucka be the Don. When ya'll asses go broke, don't come crying to me or Nikki." Benny then faced the people that shared his view. "Lets get out a here." John helped Benny take Nikki's body out of the room and out to his truck. They all left the house in their cars and regrouped at Rina's penthouse apartment downtown overlooking the city. Ra picked up his sister's magnum. Jackie walked over to him and said, "So, how does it feel to be the most powerful person in the city?" Ra looked at her simply said, "Like I've always been here." * * * "I'm still standing. . . I'm still standing. . ." As time passed, Ra cut off all aid to the few people that were against him. Nikki started her own group called the Nova Canes. They all drove Chevy Novas and had a pimp cane. Without the money from the Chance family, they went broke after a year in business. Meanwhile, Eli came back to be with Rafello. He bought his huge dog, Neptune with him. They were the best couple, always together. A month after Eli moved into the Chance Manor, Marlette died. The doctors said that she was given a trace amount of cyanide with her medicines over the years and it accumulated in her system. Nikki was the only one who gave Marlette her medicines. Nikki killed her own mother. Nikki couldn't be found. When she died, she was buried next to Jack. The funeral was smaller than Jack's, but Nikki showed up after everyone had gone. She stood over her mother's grave and wished she hadn't killed her. Ra became the most powerful man in the city. Marlette left him everything, the house, the money, the businesses, everything. Rafello Chance ruled the city in honor of his father's dream that no one would go without as long as he had money. Vinnie became mayor that same year and the Auburn City was better than ever. Vinnie had 3 consecutive times as mayor before Benny killed him. Vinnie was just sitting in his living room watching T.V. when Benny burst through the door and shot him twelve times in the chest. After 30 years as the head don, Rafello and Eli adopted a child, Sally. She was to be the next Don. When she was inaugurated into the mafia her name was Sally the Siberian husky. Rafello was now 54 years old. He sat in his father's office, smoking a cigar, listening to a recording of Beethoven's "The Moonlight Sonata" when he hears a knock at the door. "Come in." he said. "Nikki? Is it really you?" "Yeah, it's me." "I thought I said you should never come back here again?" "Yeah but . . . I just wanted to let you know your big sis ain't doing so tough." Nikki took a seat at the desk. Ra got a good look at her. She was wearing rags and smelled as though she had been living in a sewer. " It's tough out there on those cold city streets. After my gang went broke we had to sell everything just to get by. Then some crack heads robbed us. I started doing drugs when all 10 of us all had to move into an old broke down warehouse, I think it was Hige's old place. When that place burnt down, I started living in a shelter. We all went our separate ways but last, I hear, I was the only one left. They had to have volunteers dig their graves. They didn't even have a head stone or any grave marker. That's why I came to you Ra. I have to tell you everything. I have to get this off of my chest." Ra moved in closer to hear her because she trailed off at the end. Nikki then whispered in her course voice, "I did it. I killed out father and mother." Ra looked at her. "That's impossible. Jack died of cancer." Nikki shook her head, "NO, no. It's all lies. I gave him the same trace amounts of cyanide as mom. When I put him in the hospital the last time, I gave him a lethal injection." Nikki started crying. Ra felt a little sorry for her and was about to pull out his wallet and offer to have a formal funeral for the rest of them . . . but Eli burst through the door with a shotgun in his hand. "PAY BACK'S A BITCH NIKKI!" Then Eli got his revenge. Before Ra could say anything, there was a loud "BOOM" and then Nikki's head was gone. Ra turned around as he heard the sound of Neptune's howling. It was a full moon. "Once I never could hope to win, You starting down the road leaving me again, the threats you made were meant to cut me down, and if our love was just a circus, you'd be a clown by now." Quotes by Sir Elton John "I'm still standing" The people of Auburn City will never forget the legend of Rafello the Raven son of Jack the Wolf . . . --Neptune Wolf The End